The Eurovision 2024 contest has reached its climax with the celebration of its grand final this Saturday at the Malmö Arena in Sweden. It was an event that, at the beginning of the year, everyone anticipated and waited with great expectation. However, the passage of weeks and months has turned the emotion into a cry against the organization. All this due to the participation of Israel through Eden Golan and his song Hurricane.
Since the territory led by Benjamin Netanyahu responded forcefully in Gaza to what happened on October 7, 2023, half the world has asked the EBU to withdraw the participation of the country in question, alleging that its participation could distort the vision of the place in the eyes of the world. However, the union of European public chains has rejected this point and has seen how the controversies multiplied and worsened.
The situation became even muddier after learning of the expulsion from the Netherlands. His representative, Joost Klein, was not admitted to the decisive gala after a complaint from an organization worker for an alleged assault. The situation arose after several videos emerged where members of the Israeli delegation recorded him without consent and mocked the death of his parents, which he mentioned in the Europapa topic.
“We believe that the disqualification is excessive and we are shocked by the decision. We are deeply sorry and will address this issue later. Clearly against what was agreed, Joost was recorded just after leaving the stage and while he was running towards the waiting room. At that point, Joost reiterated that he did not want to be recorded. This request was not respected,” public television AVROTROS said in a statement.
One of the main reasons that social media users have found for Israel’s possible retention in the festival was found in one of its main sponsors. Despite having the name of another country on its bottles and other products, the cosmetics company MoroccanOil is of Israeli origin. Founded in 2007, it has been sponsoring Eurovision since 2020, a year after holding the contest in Tel Aviv.
At the stage level, Eden Golan’s performance has not been without controversy either. On this occasion, the boos and whistles against Golan have been much more evident than in the semifinal he played on Thursday, being heard both at the beginning and at the end of the piece. The applause and cheers from the rest of the Eurofans present in Malmö have also been audible, trying to cover up other people’s criticism.
